The present invention relates generally to damping devices for damping the vibration of overhead conducters, and particularly to a low-cost, corona-free damping device that takes the place of the well-known Stockbridge-type damper, the device of the subject invention having many advantages thereover.
The inventor of the present disclosure is named in two previous patent applications directed to damping devices for overhead conductors that employ elastomer damping elements in a compact manner, namely, U.S. Ser. No. 565,180, filed Dec. 23, 1983, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,527,008 and a continuation-in-part application thereof, Ser. No. 718,549, filed Apr. 1, 1985 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,554,402. In addition, this application is being simultaneously filed with a second application by the inventor, entitled "Damping Device With Die Cast Components", U.S. Ser. No. 805,818, filed Dec. 6, 1985.
As is known, manufacturing companies in an industry look for economies in manufacture and improvements in the performance of their products in order to meet competition. In the case of elastomer-type damping devices employing inertial weights attached to overhead conductors, the weights and clamp arms thereof are usually die cast. The machinery and die cavities employed to die cast components are costly, and in the case of overhead dampers, which are required to dampen the vibration of a multitude of conductor sizes (diameters) the cost is substantial, i.e., there are over 350 conductor sizes in commercial use which require 21 clamp sizes.